Meet Paul Ryan

Wires flesh out VP candidate's personal, professional bio
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 11, 2012 10:15 AM CDT

Get ready for a stream of stories about Paul Davis Ryan. Some tidbits about the 42-year-old Republican congressman from Wisconsin who hopes to be vice president:

  • Family man: He and wife Janna have three kids, Charles, Samuel, and Elizabeth. He's a native of Janesville, Wisconsin.
  • Father: He died of a heart attack when Ryan was 16. (Ryan found his body.) With the Social Security survivor benefits, Ryan put himself through Ohio's Miami University, where he got a bachelor's in economics and political science, according to the Huffington Post.
  • Congress: He was first elected at age 28 as a Jack Kemp disciple and quickly earned a reputation as a "fresh-faced budget hawk," says the Washington Post. As such, he's not a big fan of the Bush years. He cemented his reputation in 2010 with his "Roadmap for America's Future," which endeared him to conservatives. He serves as the House Budget Committee chairman.
  • The Obama-Biden campaign already has sent out an email declaring that Ryan "would end Medicare as we know it and slash the investments we need to keep our economy growing—all while cutting taxes for those at the very top."
  • He's a regular at the gym, reports Politico, and he likes Beethoven, Rage Against the Machine, and Led Zeppelin. Fly-fishing, too.
  • Read a profile in this week's New Yorker by Ryan Lizza here.
(More Paul Ryan stories.)

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